War veteran poppy-seller has British Empire Medal
A 100-YEAR-OLD war veteran who is still selling poppies for the Royal British Legion has been awarded a British Empire Medal.
Ronald Jones, from Newport, said he was delighted to hear he had been honoured – but insists he isn’t planning on slowing down just yet.
The centenarian – who celebrated the major milestone last month – joined the Bassaleg and Rhiwderin Branch of the Royal British Legion after he retired in 1980 and started selling poppies in supermarkets every year.
Now 30 years later Ronald is still going strong and remains chairman to this day.
Ronald said he wanted to help the charity after seeing the work they did for soldiers when they returned from the frontline.
He said: “At one time they spent one million every month on soldiers coming back from Afghanistan and Iraq. They still look after them – they don’t get a lot from the government.”
Perhaps it’s Ronald’s own remarkable tale that means he wants to give back and help others – after becoming a prisoner of war and ending up working in Auschwitz.
Ronald was called up to service in 1940 in the 1st Battalion Welch Regiment.
But during his time in Benghazi in Libya in 1942 as a 23-year-old lance corporal, Ronald and his whole battalion were captured by the Germans and shipped to Italy.
Eventually he was taken to work at Camp Staleg e715 alongside the Auschwitz concentration camp in German-occupied Poland, working in a chemical factory.
Ronald insists he feels he doesn’t deserve the accolade honouring his voluntary service to ex-service personnel and their families. He said: “I’m not a hero. I’m a survivor.”